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Delighted to be participating in a new exhibit and fundraising initiative mounted by Nipissing Region Curatorial Collective and Tweedsmuir Coworking. Proceeds will support Northern Ontario visual arts projects and the creation of a new regional arts centre in North Bay, ON. Over 80 artist-made ‘paddles for peace’ have been hung in what was formerly known as Tweedsmuir Public School. It’s an eclectic representation of what artists make possible and the risks they take in pushing the physical boundaries of the paddle. A must see event.

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The A.R.T. Small Art Works Exhibition & Sale

Arts Etobicoke Gallery Reception: Thurs, Nov 22, 6:30 – 9pm

I’m currently exhibiting four small discrete abstractions, 5″ x 4″, oil on Mylar on paper, framed at Arts Etobicoke’s A.R.T. Small Art Works Exhibition & Sale. Other featured works, from a group of local Toronto artists, include pieces 24″ x 24″ in size and smaller.

Please stop by anytime to view the works.

The Arts Etobicoke Storefront Gallery is located at 4893A Dundas Street West, Toronto just north of the Islington Subway (west on Dundas).

Arts Etobicoke Gallery Reception: Thurs, Nov 22, 6:30 – 9pm

You’re invited to the Arts Etobicoke Gallery Reception. Not only will you view beautiful small works from over 20 local artists, you’ll also hear a special Art Chat by Betty Ann Jordan from 7 – 8 pm on Trends in Contemporary Canadian Art.

Meet many of the exhibiting artists (I will be there) and enjoy some light refreshments.

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This is Ontario College of Art and Design’s (OCAD) first alumni exhibition, a voluntary initiative made possible by some very committed individuals, two years in the making. Opening night, Art Square Gallery & Cafe was bustling in an air of celebration. Elbow to elbow, savoring mouthfuls of sweet fruit and wine, the crowd was a fine blend of generations.

Fifty artists were showcased across all art and design disciplines. I found great pleasure in Dennis Burton’s, Cyan Orange Red 1964, a fresh simplification of collage and colour. Vale 2010 by Catherine proved evocative.

Not only was the vernissage a mutual opportunity to exchange vignettes on our professional practice and the business of art, it was an affirmation of our durability and commitment. We’re still kicking around!

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The squares and fools have left my studio for an art bazaar at B ART Gallery, Toronto. It’s an eclectic show of painting, photography, glass and sculpture. The gallery’s mandate is to showcase work that is ‘provocative and edgy created in the fusion between art and design’.

Not only did I attend the opening to meet colleagues, but I wanted to satisfy a curiosity. With sixteen artists exhibiting, did the squares and fools have a proper presence? Indeed, they did.

The Squares, a series of 23 miniature oil paintings, hang casually on one wall. Had someone alerted me to entertaining such scale of work, I would have drowned their words with uproarious laughter. Undeniably, a spell is cast in this world of tininess; wherein lies a delicacy and minuteness of complexity. Bounded in this 2 inch square, space is transfigured.

Around the corner, 3 framed subjects from The Fool’s Paradise suite (acrylic on paper) are poised in orderly sequence upon the whitewashed wall.

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I survived the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. Two and a half days at the show and two and a half days in the hospital. My apologies for not waving while being wheeled out to the ambulance – a grand exit, indeed. For those of you, who saw my paintings at the show and want to contact me, or arrange for a studio visit, please submit a comment. Sorry I wasn’t there.

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Yikes! Lengths of bubble wrap consume the flat, cardboard everywhere, works in process and food simmering on the stove. Is it any wonder that I don’t put my clothes on inside out, or mistake a dust ball for a cradle in the sky?

The show is a go and I am busy organizing the logistics for the 3-day event. Never too old, I suppose, to be schlepping work about, rain or shine.

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Toronto 2009, at the Metro Toronto Convention Center, proved once again to reveal some exquisite gems. I was spellbound with the multi media works of Lois Andison. Camouflage 1, 1998, is a dressmaker’s form draped in a delicate dress of Queen Anne’s lace topped with a bellow like mechanical headpiece that beckons with it’s silent, rhythmic breathe. Heartbreaking 91, 2009, too, two works on all the words that can be created out of the one word, was mesmerizing. Now a month following the fair, her work continues to echo.

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The opening at the Art Gallery of Mississauga was exciting. People were curious enough to engage in the questioning of my intent. Their imaginations conjured up all kinds of images. Ah, the creative well – limitless!

The jazz trio lightened my step.

Yousha Liu and Bob Trumbley examine some of the art work by Toronto Artist Ina Puchala.

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My morning ride along the waterfront is always a shot of energy for starting the day. It was fresh and beautiful. A brilliant blue sky holds the promise of the same all day. I’m invigorated and excited about the upcoming show at the Art Gallery of Mississauga, ‘Seeing with Closed Eyes’: Five Abstract Painters, July 16, 6pm to Sept 13, 2009. The gallery is picking up the pieces in a few days. The works stand at attention in the studio waiting for their ride to the west end. New framing on the drawings make them look like they’re dressed for an elegant party. The abstracts seem to say, I’m ready to talk to a new crowd. Bring them on. Prepping the studio to start a new series of pieces. The mind and body are getting ready, too.